In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with William Egginton about the nature of reality through the work by Borges, Heisenberg, and Kant. They discuss what connects these three men, role of interpretation, and different tools to ask big questions about space, time, and reality. They also talk about the origins of reality, change, Hume’s impact on Kant’s thinking, power of theory for understanding science, existence, and many more topics. William Egginton is an author, literary critic, a...
Aug 28, 2023•59 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Neil Theise about complexity in biology, physics, and consciousness. They talk about complexity with general systems theory, chaos theory, and fractals. They discuss complementarity with cellular biology and quantum mechanics. They also discuss consciousness, what it means to be human, and many more topics. Neil Theise is a professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. His main research interests are on adult stem cells and the...
Aug 24, 2023•59 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lauren Lassabe Shepherd about conservatives on colleges campuses in the 1960s. They talked about the organization of the book, presentism, the New Right being exported to mass media and politics, and how the New Right was very “Anti.” They discuss Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), movement from college campuses to politics, Libertarians split from conservatives, and the impact on current politics. Lauren Lassabe Shepherd is a historian, writer...
Aug 21, 2023•1 hr 38 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lev Parikian about flight in animals. They discuss convergent evolution for flight, four forces of flight, and early flight with mayflies and dragonflies. They talk about vision in dragonflies, beetles, bees and their different uses of their wings and pterosaurs. They talk about birds, flightless birds, speed of hummingbirds, bats, and many more topics. Lev Parikian is an author and conductor. He has written for many publications on birds. He i...
Aug 17, 2023•1 hr 40 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Damion Searls about the philosophy of translation. They talk about decisions in translation, primacy of reading, and trusting the translator. They discuss language proficiency, fluency, dead vs. modern languages, and translating various authors. They also talk about translating Wittgenstein, translation process, how to select a translation, and many more topics. Damion Searls is a translator, author, and philosopher. He has translated works by ...
Aug 14, 2023•1 hr 29 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Bence Nanay about mental imagery. They define mental imagery, hyperaphantasia and aphantasia, mental imagery as unconscious, predictive processing and representations. They discuss the role of the body, multimodal dimensions, EMDR, metaphysics, phenomenology of perception, and many more topics. Bence Nanay is a philosopher and BOF Research Professor of philosophical psychology at the University of Antwerp. His main interests are on the philosop...
Aug 10, 2023•1 hr 5 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Edmonds about the life and philosophy of Derek Parfit. They discuss the enigma of Derek Parfit, impact of his religious family, his work with poetry, journalism, and photography, and his time in the USA and Oxford. They talk about personal identity and the self, Reasons and Persons , utilitarianism, non-identity, equality, On What Matters , and many more topics. David Edmonds is a philosopher and author. He is Distinguished Research Fello...
Aug 07, 2023•1 hr 15 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Alfonso Martinez Arias about the cell and its importance for organisms. They talk about why many people overemphasize genes and underemphasize cells, provide a basic overview of the cell, and discuss the role of gametes. They talk about cells and embryos, embryonic stem cells, bioethics, science communication, polygenic index scores, cancerous cells, and many more topics. Alfonso Martinez Arias is a developmental biologist and ICREA Research Pr...
Aug 03, 2023•1 hr 24 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jacob Mikanowski about the past and present history of Eastern Europe. They define the contours of Eastern Europe and why this region is often forgotten. They talk about the Slavs possibly originating from Romania, Ashkenazi Jews, Paganism, Christianity, and Judaism in Eastern Europe. They talk about Muslim majority countries in Eastern Europe, impact of the Ottoman Empire, the “almost empire” of Poland-Lithuania, and Transylvania. They also di...
Jul 31, 2023•1 hr 56 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Andrew Jones about the impact that Kant had on biology. They discuss philosophy of science, Kant’s influence on biology, and how transcendental idealism of Kant impacts biology. They talk about Kant’s idea of the natural world and reality, Straussian interactions with Kant, the need for distinct disciplines, and some spiritualism in biology. They also talk about the impact of judgement on science, Kant and Hume, Kant’s relevance on Darwin, on b...
Jul 27, 2023•1 hr 41 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Mackenzie Cooley, Anna Toledano, & Duygu Yildirim about natural things in early modern worlds. They discuss how they wrote and edited their book together, Bezoar stones and their medicinal purposes, and ambergris and its medicinal purposes along with aesthetic uses. They also talk about coffee in the middle Ottoman Empire and the relationship of coffee with the body. They discuss Felix de Azara as an engineer turned naturalist, use of local...
Jul 24, 2023•1 hr
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue about the life and impact of J. Robert Oppenheimer. They talk about the elusive nature of Oppenheimer, how he became involved with theoretical physics, and the creation of the atomic bomb. They discuss his involvement with communism, AEC hearings, his last years, the legacy of Oppenheimer, and many more topics. Kai Bird is a historian, journalist, and writer. He is executive director and distinguished lecturer at CUNY Graduate Center's Leon Levy Cen...
Jul 20, 2023•52 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nancy McWilliams about psychoanalysis and the evolution of psychoanalytic theory and practice. They discuss the origins of psychoanalysis and misconceptions about Freud and the evolution of psychoanalytic theory from drive theory to object relations to self psychology to relational theory. They talk about the strengths and areas of improvement for psychoanalytic clinicians, case conceptualization, level of personality organization, defenses, tr...
Jul 17, 2023•1 hr 27 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sean Kirkland about Heidegger’s destruction of Aristotle. They discuss how he came to write on Heidegger and Aristotle together, destruction of the philosophical tradition, and the differences between positive and negative destruction. They provide and overview of Heidegger’s philosophy and provide an overview of Aristotle’s philosophy. They talk about the threefold aspects of Nietzsche, Aristotle’s idea of concepts, and three tactics of the de...
Jul 14, 2023•2 hr 19 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Blair LM Kelley about the roots of the Black working class in the United States. They discuss why she wrote the book with some biographical content along with the historical events, class and race for Black Americans, and the impact of slavery for Black working class folks. They talk about the role of the church for building and organizing community, history of Black washerwomen and their involvement with unions, and the great migration. They a...
Jul 10, 2023•1 hr 23 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Frank Putnam about our various states of being. They discuss states of being, the continuous self, and states of being in development. They also talk about different states of being in rapid cycling with those that have Bipolar Disorders, importance of memory, and how critical is personality and the Big-5. They discuss mental disorders within a state model, the fragmented self and therapy, trauma and PTSD, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), ...
Jul 06, 2023•1 hr 17 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with C.W. Goodyear about the life and presidency of James Garfield. They provide an overview of Garfield and talk about the background context and temperament of Garfield. They discuss how he rose to being a General in the Civil War very quickly, his tenure in the US House of Representatives, and his emphasis on Civil Service reform and a Department of Education. They discuss the moderate platform he ran on for President, his assassination, his lega...
Jul 03, 2023•1 hr 10 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Salomé Sibonex about identity, creation, and embracing the ambiguity of life. They share immigration stories, shifting political sides, and being incentivized for being “anti.” They discuss why people believe in their belief systems so hard, being undefined, broad spectrum of opinions, and many more topics. Salomé Sibonex is an artist, writer, and critic. She has written numerous articles on the self, identity, and spans topics in psychology an...
Jun 29, 2023•1 hr 40 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Richard Wolin about the dark side of Martin Heidegger. They discuss the black notebooks of Heidegger and what are the nature and intentions of these black notebooks. They dialogue about reading the antisemitic and Nazi themes in these notebooks with Heidegger’s philosophy. They talk about Heidegger being a member of the Nazi party, editing and re-editing his works, his views on race, and the impact these views have on his philosophy. They also ...
Jun 25, 2023•1 hr 19 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Randy Nesse about evolutionary psychiatry. They define evolutionary psychiatry, critics of evolutionary psychiatry, and how we define disorders. They also discuss emotions mood regulation, disease model of addiction, and many more topics. Randy Nesse is Research Professor of Life Sciences, and Founding Director of The Center for Evolution and Medicine , Arizona State University. He is also Professor Emeritus, Departments of Psychiatry and Psych...
Jun 22, 2023•56 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lewis Dartnell about his triptych of books on the earth and humanity. They talked about how he came to write his trilogy of books, our essentials for survival, and diversification of hominids. They also discuss plate tectonics, fertile crescent, and East African rift. They talk about the differences and similarities of different human species, importance of the oceans through time, and different materials for different civilizations. They also ...
Jun 19, 2023•1 hr 48 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Celine Kasem about the various ways she culturally identifies, her work in Syria, and activism in our current age. They begin by discussing how she became involved in activism and political work in Syria, and Gen Z’s use of digital media tools to spread awareness about issues. They also talk about the various places she has lived, concept of home, ethnic and cultural identities, Circassians, and the various ethnic groups in Syria. They discuss ...
Jun 15, 2023•3 hr 2 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Toby Matthiesen about Sunni and Shiism within the Islamic religion. They talk about the “divide” between Sunni and Shia Muslims and how this is not an accurate framing of these groups. They discuss the origins of Islam with the prophet Mohammad and the role of succession, school of jurisprudence, and the Shia century and interactions with the crusades. They also talk about the role of the Ottoman Empire and impact of the Safavids with the Ottom...
Jun 12, 2023•2 hr 8 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Peter Kramer about psychiatry and the role of anti-depressants. They discuss the inspiration for his new book and some of the major themes, the Goldwater rule and role of diagnosis, and the importance of truth. They discuss whether therapy is always valued for everyone, past and current depression research, anti-depressants, and many more topics. Peter Kramer is a psychiatrist who practiced and taught psychiatry for over 40 years. He is Emeritu...
Jun 08, 2023•1 hr 15 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with James Costa about the life of Alfred Russel Wallace. They discuss the radical and revolutionary nature of Wallace, his inquisitiveness about nature since an early age, apprenticeship, trip to the Amazon, and scientific publications. They also talk about his trip to Asia, the interactions with Darwin, spiritualism, social justice, his legacy, and many more topics. James Costa is an entomologist and evolutionary biologist who is professor of biol...
Jun 05, 2023•2 hr 12 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lawrence Sherman and Dennis Plies about the neuroscience of music. They discuss how they wrote the book together, define music, discuss the different parts of the brain involved in music, and the different elements of music. They also discuss musical preferences, differences between composing and improvising, curiosity, memory, truth in art, and many more topics. Lawrence Sherman is a neuroscientist and professor of neuroscience at the Oregon H...
Jun 01, 2023•1 hr 17 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Andrew Koppelman about Libertarianism. They discuss why Libertarianism is so popular, how it is a mutated form of liberalism, Hayek and his views, and on rights. They also talk about taxation, the philosophy of Ayn Rand, role of regulation, Liberalism today, Obamacare, and many more topics. Andrew Koppelman is the John Paul Stevens Professor of Law, Professor (by courtesy) of Political Science, and Philosophy Department Affiliated Faculty at No...
May 28, 2023•1 hr 15 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Veevers about the various perspectives around the British Empire. They talk about why people ignore some parts of history but emphasize others, Irish resistance, how the British colonized North America, and their interactions with various Native peoples. They discuss the British empire and the hegemony in Asia, meeting resistance in Africa, and having a full and complete picture of the history of the British Empire. David Veevers is an aw...
May 25, 2023•1 hr 41 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jaime Green about the origins of life, other planets, and meaning. They discuss the origins of life on earth, why humans ask the big questions of life, and life on other planets. They talk about AI, machine learning, utility of sci-fi films, UFOs and many more topics. Jaime Green is a writer, editor, and essayist. She is the series editor for The Best American Science and Nature Writing . She is also a lecturer at Smith College. She is the auth...
May 22, 2023•1 hr 36 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Peggy O’Donnell Heffington about women’s rights, choice, and children. They talk about some of the reasons why women don’t have children, Millennials having children later, and structural aspects of choice. They discuss the history of abortion, contraception laws, Roe V. Wade, Dobbs ruling, the history and origins of the nuclear family, grandmother hypothesis, public perceptions of people without children, and many more topics. Peggy O’Donnell ...
May 18, 2023•2 hr
